Madonna on Tidal: ‘We Didn’t Join Forces Because We Want More Money’

Jay Z's music streaming site Tidal has been met with quite a bit of criticism since its initial release, with many music fans seeing the platform as a transparent attempt for the rich to get richer. Users have expressed skepticism of its high price point, and even exclusive video releases from huge artists like Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and Beyonce have failed to entice more fans to sign up. But maybe Madonna’s recent comments about the site will change some minds.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Madonna spoke out in defense of the company, saying, "It's just the beginning, so we're working out a lot of kinks and hopefully we're going to build something unique and amazing that's going to attract a lot of people.”

While she remained vague about what the site may eventually offer potential subscribers that could coax more people into switching over from its less expensive competitors, like Apple Music or Spotify, Madonna remained adamant about Tidal's ultimate goal, and that it has little to do with money.

She said, "It's important that people understand we didn't create Tidal, we didn't put this together, we didn't all join forces because we're broke and we want more money. The idea is we want to support other artists and we want people to understand this is our heart, this is our work, and we want people to recognize that and we want other artists to have a chance.”

She went on to echo Taylor Swift's sentiments in that musicians deserve to be paid for their art. She said, "We live in a society now where everybody just expects everything to be for free, but you don't get a house for free; you have to pay somebody to build it."

To its credit, Tidal has listened to complaints about its price points and responded by implementing a discount for students, as well as a family plan that offers cheaper rates for multiple subscribers using the same account.